1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless networks, and more specifically to provisioning of multiple wireless stations of a WLAN.
2. Related Art
A Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) contains an access point (AP) and one or more wireless stations. An AP refers to a switching device, which receives packets from a wireless station and forwards the packet to or towards a target device. A wireless station on the other hand is the source or destination in the WLAN of such packets. The target (or destination) device is often another wireless station in the same wireless network, though it can be a device connected through a wired network via the access point. The access point communicates with the wireless devices using protocols such as those defined according to IEEE 802.11 standard.
A wireless station generally needs to be provisioned before being able to communicate with other stations via an AP implementing various security measures. Provisioning generally entails configuring (e.g., storing at appropriate locations) the wireless station with various parameters that enable the wireless station to comply with the security measures enforced by the AP. In many WLAN environments, the parameters include SSID (Service set identification) of the network and a passphrase, as is well known in the relevant arts.
There are often situations when multiple wireless stations are to be provisioned. For example, a user may purchase multiple WLAN capable stations for home use, and thereafter wish that all these stations be enabled to communicate via a pre-existing AP installed at home. It may be desirable that the user be facilitated to provision all such stations with as little overhead as possible.
In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.